Croatia on Cup hiding to Russians

RUSSIA has claimed a third Davis Cup title after Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev both won their singles matches to defeat Croatia.

Medvedev’s 7-6 (9/7) 6-2 victory over Marin Cilic came after Rublev had prevailed 6-4 7-6 (7/5) over Borna Gojo, giving Russia an unassailable 2-0 lead in Madrid.

Croatia’s greatest chance would have been in the doubles, with world No.1 pair Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, but they always needed a surprise in the singles to take the tie to the final rubber.

Instead, Medvedev and Rublev, ranked two and five in the world respectively, held their nerve to make it nine out of 10 victories for Russia’s power pair in the tournament.

“I can say that for all of us it’s very important to win here. It’s still the Davis Cup,” Medvedev said.

“We still see Novak (Djokovic) playing. Rafa (Nadal) won it last time. No matter the format, the best players in the world are happy to represent their country. It’s Davis Cup and we are the winners of it. That’s the most important thing.”

Cilic and Gojo were far from overwhelmed and, with Real Madrid’s Luka Modric supporting in the crowd, they rose to the occasion in a compelling final that in the end turned on two close tie-breaks.

Russia have not won the Davis Cup since 2006 and failed to reach a single quarterfinal between 2011 and 2018.

Victory for the men also completes a Russian one-two after the women’s team won the Billie Jean King Cup in Prague last month.

The last country to do the double was the Czech Republic in 2012.